How to be a friend of God?
By Kim D’souza
In fact, that was always HIS plan. God enjoyed HIS conversation and evening walks with Adam in the garden of Eden, until Adam distrusted this friendship, making it impossible for man and God to be friends again.
Here’s the thing: All of God’s children have unlimited and unbiased access to Him, but the proximity at which we are with Him is completely determined by us. That’s why God says: You come near to me and I will come near to you (James 4:8). And, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13-14). In other words, God says, “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I will make sure you won’t be disappointed.” (MSG)
If we desire God’s intimacy, obviously we need to know what He likes and what He dislikes, what melts His heart, what breaks His heart, and the best way to do it is to study the Word of God.
There is a private place reserved for the lovers of God, where they sit near HIM and receive the revelation and secrets of his promises. (Psalms 25:14, TPT).
So, where we do we start?
Access deepens as you spend more time together. The more you talk to somebody, the more you listen to somebody, your friendship will grow. It is the same with God.
Enoch walked faithfully with God (Genesis 5:24). While others lived for themselves and the world, Enoch’s life was for God. Because he had God as his walking partner, he didn’t face what others had to face. And so did Noah, and many others. You see, whoever walks with God will enter the realm where God unfolds the secrets of His kingdom.
Walking with God will cost you your time with the world (James 4:4). But the reward is worth it! Consistently and steadily spend time with God (Not Sunday to Sunday and not based on your feelings).
Recently I saw a vision of Jesus and me in a beautiful garden. As we sat next to a river, I was quick to tell him – I want to walk on the water. But all the while He kept telling me to look at my reflection in the water. When I did that, I could see my face in the water and as I kept looking, I could now see Jesus’ face as my reflection. And then Jesus said, “Now you are ready to walk on the water!”
As His friend, God wants to deposit so many things in the inside of you, but it begins with we walking with Him and He shaping our character in the process. It’s in this walking and spending time with Him that He transforms us more and more into His likeness, and we begin to know Him as a friend.
2/ Remain broken, remain humble
Brokenness attracts God whereas pride repels Him (Psalms 51:17, James 4:6). Pride is like body odour, everybody is aware of it except you, whereas God loves the smell of humility.
A broken or poor spirit is different from a crushed spirit (Proverbs 18:14). While a crushed spirit is self-focused, a broken spirit is a surrendered spirit – It says God I cannot do without you – less of me and more of You. God loves to be close to those who are humble and quick to repent. Moses was God’s friend because he was meek.
One day (Numbers 12), when Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses, their boast was that like Moses, they also had the prophetic gift. What God speaks in his friend Moses’ defense was phenomenal: Prophets see dreams and visions, but Moses doesn’t belong to this category alone. I speak to him intimately in person, in plain talk. He gets to see a side of me that nobody else sees!
Wow, you see more than pursuing the gifts and calling, we got to pursue friendship and fellowship with God. More than being an apostle, teacher, pastor or evangelist, may we be known as a friend of God!
3/ God friendship is for God worshippers
…they are the ones he confides in (Psalms 25:14, MSG).
God worshippers are those who walk in the fear of God and are conscious of not breaking His heart.
When two people are in love, they are so conscious of each other. They may be in the midst of everybody else but their complete attention is on what the other person is saying or doing. God friendship is for those who live in consciousness of Him. King David was so conscious of God that He didn’t bother what others may think of his ‘awkward’ worship. I like Zaccheus, the tax collector who was so focused on looking at Jesus, that he ended up climbing a tree! And the result? He earned the fellowship of Jesus for dinner.
To conclude, do you know what attributes bring about greatness in a person? Not our achievements, not our titles, not even the ministry but God’s nearness is our greatness. For what other nation is so great to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? (Deuteronomy 4:7).
May we be known as friends of God!
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